- The 3 institutions will collaborate to implement the VIVE Project —Come, Get Inspired, and Sell— and strengthen the economic empowerment of Mexican women.
- With this alliance, 6 states of the Mexican Republic join the implementation of the VIVE Project.
- The project beneficiaries will participate in a Pitch Tank to access seed capital or business loans to boost their entrepreneurship.
Mexico City, April 2, 2019.- The Trust for the Americas has formed a partnership with PROMUJER and CREA, organizations specializing in working with women entrepreneurs, to expand the implementation of the VIVE Project in 14 states of the Mexican Republic.
Natalia Wills, PROMUJER Partnerships Officer, Natalia Villapando, CREA Director, and Fernanda Sierra, VIVE Project Manager
To consolidate this alliance, the institutions signed a collaboration agreement. During the event, María Fernanda Sierra, Manager of the VIVE Project, explained that this collaboration is a step forward because “it allows us to join forces to empower women in Mexico and Latin America.”.
In addition, she explained that the VIVE Project was implemented in 2016 thanks to the support of the Walmart Foundation, and during these years “we have benefited more than 50 thousand people, 78 percent of whom are women living in vulnerable conditions who seek to expand their technical and personal skills to improve their economy and living conditions.”.
On her part, Natalia Villapando, Director of CREA: Comunidades de Emprendedores AC, said that in 2017 “we welcomed 893 women who acquired entrepreneurship loans with PROMUJER and the findings were very interesting, because 91 percent of those women reported having experienced some type of violence. Therefore, in 2018 we partnered with Proyecto VIVE, which implemented the violence prevention module for girls and women, thereby empowering them not only for their entrepreneurship but also for their daily lives.”.
In her remarks, Natalia Wills, Partnerships Officer at PROMUJER, emphasized that the organization has been working for years to promote women’s personal empowerment, but “we always like to go further, which is why we seek out other organizations. We are delighted to join the VIVE Project and The Trust for the Americas, which have demonstrated that their methodology works and can provide more tools to women entrepreneurs.”.
This alliance will allow 11 women from 14 states of the Mexican Republic to access seed capital to boost their businesses and contribute to their economic empowerment. The training includes topics on customer service, sales, entrepreneurship, personal skills, and the prevention of violence against girls and women.
The VIVE Project trained more than 51,000 people nationwide over two years. Of the total number of people trained, more than 38,000 are women (40% of whom are female heads of household). In addition, nearly 7,000 people were connected to economic opportunities (86% women; 60% were placed in full-time jobs, and 21% became self-employed or launched entrepreneurial projects).
According to the independent evaluation (GENERA 2018), female graduates of the VIVE Project feel empowered after participating in the program, leading to an increase in their self-perception and ability to make decisions independently without the intervention of others. More than 75% of the female graduates report an increase in their ability to make decisions independently, with an increase of between 20% and 60% percentage points between the treatment group and the control group.
About The Trust for the Americas:
The Trust for the Americas is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mission is to promote partnerships for economic and social inclusion in the Americas. Established in 1997, The Trust was created to foster the participation of the public sector, the private sector, and civil society initiatives in social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The organization’s initiatives improve communities’ access to economic opportunities, enhance public safety, and create opportunities for democratic expression and good governance. The Trust for the Americas offers local partner organizations training tools, services, products, and technical assistance to better serve vulnerable communities in the region. Visit: www.trustfortheamericas.org www.trust-oea.org/vive
Facebook: The Trust for the Americas ProyectoVIVEmx Twitter: @Trust4Americas @ProyectoVIVEmx
About CREA Social Entrepreneurs Communities, A.C.
For 10 years, we have been developing and executing programs with proven impact to empower and boost women entrepreneurs and business owners from socially and/or economically marginalized areas.
At Crea, we share knowledge through educational programs that strengthen both soft and hard skills. We seek to impact the lives of women entrepreneurs who want to start a business idea or deepen the one they already have.
About Pro Mujer Regional:
Founded in 1990 in Bolivia, Pro Mujer is a leading social enterprise driven by its mission to empower women in Latin America through a range of financial, health, and skills-development services that help them reach their full potential. Over the past 29 years, Pro Mujer has disbursed more than $3.6 billion in small loans, provided more than 9 million health services, and impacted 2 million women in Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru.